My Last Duchess - Daisy Goodwin

 My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin is very lush and gorgeous and hugely readable.

Redolent of The Custom of the Country and The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton which feature American girls marrying into the aristocratic market in the UK during the reign of Edward VII.  Cora Cash, only daughter of a nouveau riche millionaire has a mother who is determined to break into the Four Hundred, the elite of New York and secure a titled husband for her child. She is ruthless and ambitious and is delighted when Cora by sheer chance finds herself a guest of the Duke of Wareham following a riding accident while on a husband hunting visit to England.  He has an estate which is crumbling and badly needs money, she has the cash he needs so what could be more perfect?   One fly in the ointment, Cora falls in love with her husband but does he love her?   Not only does she have to deal with her new marriage and status but Cora has to pick her way through the minefield that is English society with all eyes on her waiting for her to make a mistake, she has a glamorous and jealous mother in law and her own parents are back in America and not interested in anything but the fact that their daughter is now a Duchess.

I really enjoyed this book. Sat and read it through this afternoon and could not put it down until I came to the final page and found out whether Cora was to have a happy ending or not.  Marvellous description of the lavish Edwardian lifestyle the rich and aristocratic led at this time with fidelity mocked and infidelity positively encouraged with nothing mattering but keeping up appearances.

My Last Duchess is published by Headline books.  This publishing house has sent me a lot of books over the past few months and there have been some goodies in there which I would not have spotted if they had not been kind enough to let me have copies.  This is one of the goodies and worth checking out their website and looking at their list.

If you read and enjoy this book, and I hope you will, may I recommend extra reading on this subject and I am pleased to have another opportunity to recommend The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett reviewed here. This is the story of the fictional Van der Poel sisters who come to England and marry into the aristocracy and is one of this author's adult books and one of my favourites.  It was republished la year or two ago by Persephone books and is available, but I must mention that this particular edition has been edited and abridged and about 200 pages deleted.  It is still a good read but second hand copies with the full text are available on the internet. I know as I have one.   I have also mentioned that this book is very Edith Wharton'ish in its content and setting and can recommend this author as well, some of the names of the Four Hundred mentioned in My last Duchess turn up in the Age of Innocence.

I have seen Daisy Goodwin on the TV and she has always struck me as having a most engaging and fun personality and now she turns out to be a writer with great flair and style.  I really do recommend this book, it is a real page turner.  I look forward to her follow up to this excellent debut.

NOTE: this book is not yet published - due on 19 August but nothing to stop you putting in a pre-order....